Iran's judiciary has issued verdicts for 20 people accused of storming Saudi diplomatic missions in January and will announce them in the near future, an unnamed official was quoted as saying by the judiciary news agency on Tuesday. Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic relations with Iran after protesters stormed the kingdom's embassy in Tehran and consulate in Mashhad in response to Riyadh's execution of prominent Saudi Shia cleric Sheik Nimr al-Nimr.
The Iranian government outright condemned the assault and President Hassan Rouhani, keen to improve Tehran's long-strained relations with its neighbors and the West, asked the judiciary to punish the protesters and prevent further attacks.
Mizan news agency quoted a judge as saying that the verdicts for the 20 defendants have been issued and "will be announced soon". He did not give the names of the 20 and did not say whether they had been convicted or not.
Iran's judiciary announced in April that more than 100 suspects had been arrested over the attack on the Saudi missions and 48 were charged. All were released on bail.
